Ino's Way Of Matchmaking
by PinkyCherry-Chan334
Summary: [AU/ SasuSaku] What does Ino do when she figures out that her best friend has a crush on her childhood friend? Matchmaking and blackmailing galore! [Oneshot] A remake version of 'Pocky For Two'.


**A/N: I'm re-writing my very first fanfic '_Pocky For Two__' _for two very simple reasons.**

**1) I saw that the first one (In MY opinion) totally F**KING SUCKED. Lol, I just criticized myself xD!**

**2) Because it WAS my very first story, so I was super nervous and worried that nobody would like it...**

**Sooo... I present to you, '_Pocky For Two_' REDONE version, renamed '_Ino's Way Of Matchmaking__'_!**

**Disclaimer****: I'm only a 14 year old, who's about to be a high school freshmen in a few weeks. Of course I don't own Naruto. (Besides, Hinata owns him.~)**

**Edit (7/11/13)****: ZOMG! 6000+ words! I'm so freakin' HAPPY!~ (Goes to La La Land)**

-xXx-

_Ino's Way Of Matchmaking_

_-Oneshot-_

-xXx-

It was finally her last class of the day. Luckily for her, it was her favorite class of the day, Art, which she shared with her childhood/best friend, Ino. Sad part: Hinata and Tenten were in another class together. And to top it all off, her second (To her, Ino will always be first.) best childhood friend, Sasuke was also in another class! Once again, the school's duty of arranging students in their classes have failed Sakura.

The pinknette sighed. At least the fun part was that she'd get to draw whatever she wanted as an assignment Kurenai-sensei had assigned. She looked over to Ino, who was sitting beside her, humming happily as she painted a serene looking flower field. The bright sun shining its translucent rays across the beautifully painted sky-blue lake, making it glimmer and shine. Multi-colored tulips were dancing and swaying lightly in the wind. A bird or two were seen flying in the distant and butterflies and humming birds could be seen on the tulips. It's a real wonder and mystery of how Ino could _possibly_ do such a stunning masterpiece in 35 minutes. Yup, Ino could be a third Picasso – next to the REAL Picasso and Sai of course – if she poured her soul and heart into it.

Sakura blinked and turned back to her own painting.

It was a painting of a beautiful – at least that's what Ino had described it – cherry blossom tree. Its petals gently floating in the wind. She had managed to – shockingly – make a very light shade of rose pink, giving the backing a very soft and glowing pink effect. Her emerald eye's roam over her canvas; the only interesting thing she could find was that one single jet-black raven perched on a lone branch. It's eyes were a beautiful and unique mix of pitch-black with a tint of red mixed in. She cocked her head bemused. She never remembered wanting to paint such an image. Compared to Ino's painting, her's was mysterious and quite hypnotizing to the eye.

Her eyes kept wandering randomly over her canvas that she didn't notice Ino was now finished with her painting, smirking victoriously and proudly at her work, and was now currently watching over Sakura's shoulder. "Whoa... Beautiful painting, Forehead..." She breathed out, stunned by its alluring beauty.

Sakura jumped a few inches, turned her head around, laying a hand over her thumping heart. "Ino! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She patted her chest a couple of times. "I could have a heart attack!"

Ino stuck her tongue out, sheepishly scratching her cheek, "Hehe... Gomen Forehead. But seriously, THAT is one beautiful painting. You done with it yet?" The blonde leaned closer to the canvas to examine its fine strokes, one hand on her chin and the other on her hip.

The emerald-eyed girl nodded, "Yea. But I'm not so sure why I even painted this in the first place..." She cocked her head and closed her eyes for a second, looking like a cute 5 year old who's confused and thinking. She opened one eye, "What ARE you doing again?"

"Examining your marvelous artwork, of course." She looked at the lake and tulips, "Hmmm... Nice strokes..." She muttered to herself. "The raven's a nice touch to it too..."

Sakura rolled her eyes at her art-loving friend, "I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of it. And what part of it is beautiful? Is it really THAT good?" She asked, oblivious to her own skills.

Ino turned to her friend, looking incredulous. "DUH! I mean, c'mon! You could make a living out of your paintings in the future, Forehead! And I mean it in a good way too!" Ino's eyes turned to the raven and examined it more closely, resembling a detective.

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Insane art-lover..." She muttered to herself. Ino's head turned to look at her, then back at the raven, then back at Sakura, then back at the raven, and so on and so on. "What, Ino-pig!?"

"Hm..." She 'hm-ed', staring and narrowing her eyes at the raven intently. Sakura gave her best friend a weird look. Ino's face suddenly lit up and smiled mischievously to herself for a second before turning back to Sakura, who was still sending her a weird look.

"Anytime this century now, Ino-pig."

"Ne. Call me crazy but doesn't this raven resemble... Sasuke?"

"Huh!?"

Ino's eyes lit up and smirked smugly in her head. _'Bingo.'_She continued, "Yea! I mean, LOOK at it!" She pointed a carefully, purple-manicured nail at the raven. "It's black, Sasuke has BLACK hair! You even got the eyes detailed correctly! Its eyes are both black and red, Sasuke's eyes are black and they turn RED when he's angry! Its back looks spiky, Sasuke's hair looks like a chicken or a duck's ass, but it's still spiky nonetheless!" Ino stated melodramatically, raising a finger in front of the frightened, pink-haired girl's face. "AND! Ravens are quite the mysterious creatures, JUST. LIKE. SASUKE." She gasped, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Maybe the two of you are totally DESTINED for each other!" She squealed dreamily, clasping her hands together and beaming at Sakura, who just sweat-dropped for not having a chance of voicing out her opinions.

"Ino-"

"There might even be a red thread of fate connecting the two of you! It's FATE I tell you!" The blonde swayed, imagining the two proclaiming their 'love' for each other.

Sakura let out a snort, "Oh, c'mon! Now you're acting just like Neji! It might just be a COINCIDENCE. Maybe I just happen to start liking ravens and the colors black and red!" She lied. "Not to mention, the 'red thread of fate' is just a myth! **(1)**"

She knew that she had lied. She had been feeling a little warm and tingly whenever she was near Sasuke and she didn't know why. Her only speculation was that she had been developing a crush on him – which might be true in a way. But she couldn't really have a crush on her second best friend, right? She was so engaged in her thoughts, that she realized that she had done several things... Relating to a certain chicken ass she knew.

On one incident, she was daydreaming during English and had subconsciously wrote his name all over her notebook, with hearts and stars all over. She was so embarrassed that when she saw that she had wrote out 'S+S' in a giant heart ALL over the corner of the page. She thanked ever single god there is that Sasuke was talking to Naruto at the time and that the teacher, Kakashi, was nice enough to pretend to not notice it when he peeked over to her direction and saw her desperately putting a finger in front of her mouth, indicating him to be quiet. Unbeknownst to her, Ino and Hinata had noticed it, but decided to keep quiet about it.

Another incident was when she, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were assigned a very simple assignment to make onigiri with the stuffing of your choice for lunch. She had subconsciously – again – stuffed a couple of tomatoes in her onigiri, earning weird looks from her friends – or more specifically: A raised eyebrow and sly look from Ino. During lunch, she had wondered why there was even tomato in her onigiri when she wasn't a big fan of tomatoes. Ino had explained in a sly tone that went unnoticed by the oblivious pink-haired girl that it was Sakura herself that stuffed tomatoes inside her onigiri. She also reminded Sakura that Sasuke's favorite food were tomatoes and she had noticed that he did liked eating her home-cooking – especially if they involved tomatoes. She blushed at his name for some unknown reason. Ino – for a VERY strange reason – started to jot down her reaction in her notepad.

Many more incidents similar to these had happened in similar ways. And they all happened during the same week up til' now. Anyways, back to the story.

The blonde's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "You're lying. I can see it in your eyes!" She said suspiciously, totally ignoring the fact that Sakura had basically called the 'red thread of fate' a myth. She narrowed her eyes even more, pondering thoughtfully for a minute and every second, Sakura was having a panic attack. What if Ino had found out about her recent activities!? _(A/N: Too late, Saku-chan :P) _She'll NEVER let her live it down! If she found out then she would tell Tenten and Hinata! Tenten tells it to Neji and Hinata tells it to Naruto! And once Naruto knows, she might as well say 'Sayonara, world! Hello hell!'

"Sakura."

Sakura panicked for the umpteenth time today, "H-hai...?" She meekly squeaked. Whenever Ino said her name, it meant business.

The blonde's eyes narrowed – for the umpteenth time ALSO – and bent down at the emerald-eyed girl's eye level, "Could it be that you..." She leaned closer. Sakura leaned back slightly and silently gulped. This is it: The end of her life. "Have decided to turn emo!?"

Sakura choked on her air supply, "What!? No! What in hell had brainwashed you to make you think that I had turned emo, huh!?" She retorted heatedly. "Was it Naruto that tainted your mind!?"

Ino stuck out her tongue, "No silly! I was just messing with ya', Forehead! I got you good didn't I!?" She laughed. Sakura glared and sighed an annoyed sigh. "What!? Ya' know, ravens and the colors black and red DOES associate with emo, right!?" She laughed again.

Sakura just crossed her arms and pouted angrily, "Baka, Ino-pig..." She muttered.

Suddenly, she stopped laughing and put on a serious expression, "Now onto our REAL business." She dragged her stool to where they were and sat down, staring at Sakura. "Now, Sakura. How long have you known Sasuke?" She crossed her legs and put her elbow on it, her hand supporting her head as she leaned forward and staring at the panic-stricken girl on her stool.

"U-umm... Er... A year after I met you...?" She replied, which sounded more like a question rather than a statement. She blushed softly at his name.

The blonde's eyebrow rose, "And is he really special to you?"

"H-hai...?" She squeaked meekly, the blush evolving to a light pinkish color. She lowered her head in between her shoulders.

"No. I mean, REALLY SPECIAL to you."

"H-hai...!? Where are you going with this...?" She asked meekly, the blush evolving to light red now. She lowered her head even more, using her shoulders to hide her burning face. Her heart thumping wildly and sweat dripped down from her face. Great, now she was acting like Hinata now.

"Hm..." Ino sat straight and put a finger on her chin, feigning a deeply thinking pose. "Oh, nothing..." A pink eyebrow rose at the sly tone. "It's just that you HAVE A CRUSH ON SASUKE!" She shouted at her smugly with a mischievous grin, clapping her hands together in smug victory. _'I KNEW there was something going on between them! Now __I just have to brainstorm up a plan with Tenten, Hinata, and Naruto later...'_

Now the blush have fully evolved to a deep crimson, rivaling – or might even beat – Hinata's blush.

"W-w-what!? W-why would I like him!? He's er... Cold-hearted!" Sakura nervously sputtered out, extremely embarrassed, waving her arms around wildly like an insane psycho. Fortunately, all the students were chatting – some were yelling like Tarzan for some reason – too loudly to hear Ino's shouting or notice the pink-haired girl's hysteria. Kurenai-sensei, who was also her cooking teacher, was also out of the classroom – Ino had suspected that she abandoned class to do 'something' with Asuma-sensei in the janitor's closet.

Ino's eye glinted with mischief and her lips curled up, making her resemble the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, "Riiiiiight. You don't like him." Sakura was about to sigh. "You LOVE him!" Sakura re-sucked her breath and coughed and hacked like there was no tomorrow, with her face glowing red that she could easily be mistaken as a Christmas light over-heating. She glared at Ino with such intensity that even Sasuke or even Itachi would be proud of.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do NOT!"

"Do TOO!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!" Ino's eyes widen, "Shit!" She face-palmed.

"Aha! So you do agree I do NOT!" Sakura grinned smugly, crossing her arms over he chest.

_**'Lies. Liar.' **Inner said as she shook her head._

_'Shut up! You're not helping! And I thought you were on MY side!?'_

_**'I can always switch sides you know. Besides what she says is TRUE. Get it through your thick skull already.'**_

_'…..'_

_**'Speechless now, are we?'**_

_'I'll deal with you LATER.'_

Ino scoffed, "Whatever. Doesn't change the fact that YOU STILL LIKE HIM." She crossed her arms as well.

"And YOU like SHIKAMARU!"

Ino's eyes widen in surprise, "How did you-"

"Oh, please! Like I haven't notice your little dreamy faces whenever you stare at him or the small trail of drool oozing down your face or the fact that you scribble 'Mrs. Nara Shikamaru' all over your notebook AND the fact that you go cloud gazing with him when we ALL know that you don't even like cloud gazing." Sakura grumbled. "You're so obvious that me, Tenten, Hinata, Sasuke, and even NARUTO had noticed."

"W-well! You... Uh... Er..." Ino racked her brain for any good comebacks, but sadly nothing came to mind. "Ah! I'll remember this!" She pouted in defeat, sitting back down.

The pinknette scoffed, "You're just lucky that Shikamaru is too much of a lazy ass to even notice your poorly masked obsession with him." She rolled her emerald eyes again.

"Awww, shut it..."

"Speaking of which, what are you gonna do with your painting now that it's finished?" Sakura asked, hoping to change the subject – which worked. Thank you, Ino's poor attention span! _(A/N: I'm NOT bashing on Ino, got it!)_

The blonde thought for a moment, "Well, I was thinking of giving it to Shika-kun." She swooned at his name.

"Shika-kun? Already giving each other pet names now, are we?" A delicate pink eyebrow rose.

"SHUT. UP." Ino blushed and pouted. "What about your painting?"

Sakura shrugged, "I dunno... Maybe I'll just hang it in my room. It might go great with my pink wallpaper and blue bed if I hang it over my bed."

"What about the living room since it's got tons of space? The last time I visited, it was SO... plain... Not even a single picture..."

"Definitely NOT the living room. Last time we had a painting there, dad's fork and knife accidentally flew out of his hand and stabbed it. It was okay at first since it was an accident, but then it kept happening over and over again. So now, we can't hang anything there for safety issues and saving money..."

Ino's eyebrow rose in interest, "Your dad's FORK and KNIFE FLEW and STABBED the painting?" She cocked her head in wonder, "How did it even fly all the way to the living room when you normally eat in the kitchen?"

"He wanted to eat in the living room for a change. Then apparently Lady-Luck decided to try a new game called 'Forks and Knives'. His fork and knife 'slipped' out of his hands while he was throwing his arms up dramatically during his story telling and he was cutting chicken." Sakura rolled her eyes. Only kami-sama knows what goes on in her dad's mind.

"Well... Look on the bright side: You could give it to your future spouse..." Ino slyly added, smirked at her best friend's flushed face.

"Stop acting like you're my matchmaker! You don't see me matchmaking you and Shikamaru together!" She yelled, red faced and Ino pouted.

"But it's WAY more fun when I matchmake you! And I think you and Sasuke would look so adorable together!" She cooed dreamily. _'More like THE perfect couple!~'_

"Y-you think s-so?" Sakura blushed, having a slight glimmer of hope in her eyes. Wait, HOPE in her eyes!? Why is she being hopeful again!? She could NOT have a crush on him! It would totally ruin the whole friendship rule and then it'll just be plain awkward!

"Of course!" I bet my top and earrings that everyone we ask that to will agree that you two ARE the perfect couple!" Ino proclaimed confidently. "And besides, think of it this way. He's the 'mysterious raven' and you're like... the 'sugar' to his heart!" Ino quickly came up with. "Think about it: Sasuke's anti-social, a bit emo, and maybe a bit cold-hearted. While you are sugary, cheerful, and friendly. You two BALANCE each other like yin and yang! Ino stated matter-of-factly. "You know what they say: Opposites attract, Forehead!" She sagely advised. "And I think Sasuke feels the same about you."

"What are you? My love councilor?" Sakura grumbled. "And that is such a terrible thing to bet..." She muttered to herself. _'Exactly, HOW can she be so over-confident?'_

"Of course I am! I'm in charge of making sure that you have a fabulous love life in the future!" Ino put an arm around her shoulders, "Besides, best friends support each other, am I right!?"

Sakura smiled, "Right. But I don't like Sasuke."

"Tsk. Tsk. Someone's in denial!~" Ino sang mischievously. "And denial isn't only just a river in Egypt!~" Her lips curled up once again, Sasuke and Sakura sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-"

"SHUT. THE. FREAKIN'. HELL. UP. Before I break all your bones and rearrange them as my new furniture and feed some to the neighbor's dogs."

The blonde shut up immediately, however after 10 seconds of silence, "-I-N-G!~"The blonde chirped cheekily. Sakura groaned into her palms, which were covering her face.

For the rest of class, it just follows with Ino teasing Sakura about being 'Mrs. Uchiha Sasuke' in the future and Sakura roaring death threats at Ino, wishing that her face wasn't so glowing scarlet that you could even see steam radiating off of her. After the bell rang, class was dismissed and the two friends decided to take home their paintings, seeing how it is dry.

"I think Tenten said that she was going with Neji to Lee's dojo after school today. And Hinata told me that she was going with Naruto to Ichiraku together." Sakura informed her friend.

"Awww... They always seem to ditch us for them..." Ino pouted. "I bet they forgot all about us... Whatever happened to the term 'Best Friends For Life'? Now I'm stuck being lonely with you..." She whined.

"Hey! What's so bad about my company!?" Sakura glared accusingly. "And I thought you were going to give that to Shikamaru?" The pinknette pointed at Ino's painting.

"Meh. Maybe tomorrow. I'm too lazy!" Ino whined AGAIN.

"Aww... You're already taking after your future husband!" Sakura cooed, fake squealing, giving Ino a taste of her own medicine.

"SHUT UP!" The flushed blonde hollered. Unfortunately, she screamed a little too loud and caught some students' attentions. She bowed, "Gomenasai, minna-san!" She waved her arms around wildly, nearly whacking some heads. Some just turned their heads and began their chatting while others were whispering, keeping their eyes on Ino. Sakura swore she heard some people mutter 'Just another crazy person..."

The pinknette appeared behind Ino and placed her hands on her shoulders, guiding her through the fortress of people. "Okay, people! Nothing to see here!" She herself was embarrassed and she didn't even do ANYTHING! Talk about embarrassing!

-xXx-

_[Timeskip]_

Once they had reached Sakura's house, Ino quickly bade her good bye and retreated back into her house, which was at the right of Sakura's house. Little did poor Sakura know, Ino was up to something involving her and someone else...

-xXx-

_[Ino]_

"Ne, Ino. Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, you completely ruined my date with Hinata-chan and you just called Tenten telling us to come over immediately after school this morning." Naruto stated confused. Hinata blushed at the date comment.

"Positive! Now shut up, Naruto! The plan is about to start!" The cerulean-eyed boy silenced as Ino waited for the phone on the other side to pick up.

"Something tells me that this was a bad idea, Ino."

"Shush! Tenten!"

-xXx-

_[Sakura]_

Sakura was still outside, her hand laying solemnly on the doorknob. She gazed at it sadly for a few seconds. She started to inhale a big breath and exhaled it. She pushed open the door, "I'm home!" She was greeted back with silence and the lights were off.

She sighed depressingly. Ever since her parents had gotten a promotion, they couldn't turn it down. But thanks to it, they would come home late at night, leaving Sakura to be very lonely and sulk. It had always been like this ever since 3 years ago _(A/N: Let's just say she's 16, okay?) _

Usually, she would chat with Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Naruto, or Sasuke on the phone, through text, or online. Sometimes they would visit to keep her company.

-xXx-

_[Ino]_

"Oh, so you'll do it!?... Uh huh... Uh huh... Okay... Listen, shut up for a minute!" Ino yelled into her phone, surprising the others. "Listen buddy, this is MY and YOUR best friend we're talking about here! SO YOU BETTER do this or else there will be hell to pay!... What am I going to do!? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!?... Well, first I will sneak into your house, booby-trap your WHOLE ENTIRE HOUSE including the toilet, sneak into your room, steal a whole drawer of your boxers, and I'LL SELL 'EM TO YOUR FANGIRLS!... Of course I have no shame in this!... Oh, thank you! I'll take that as a compliment!... Of course I have WAY more devious and 'hell threatening' plans than this!... And YOU MISTER ARE AN ASSHOLE! I mean, WHO ARE YOU CALLING A "CRAZY BLONDE BITCH'!?..."

"All I hear is intense swearing..." Naruto sweat-dropped as he whispered to Hinata and Tente, both nodding and humming in agreement. Ino had her back turned to them, yelling more threats, curses, and profanities into the poor iPhone in her hand. In addition, she was also stomping in rage and frustration. Sometimes she would punch or wave her free hand in the air, threateningly.

"And not to mention that this is looking more and more like blackmailing rather than 'asking nicely' or so she says... In fact, it doesn't even sound like a PLAN at all." Tenten added. Naruto hummed in agreement, along with Hinata.

"At this rate, she might accidentally destroy her own house. We all know that **HE'S** a tough cookie to crack." Hinata piped in, earning nods of agreement as well.

"But, Hinata-chan. At this rate, she MIGHT win this cookie war." Naruto said, imitating an announcer. Hinata and Tenten stared at Naruto weirdly. "What? You said 'tough cookie to crack'." The two girls shrugged whilst Naruto pouted.

"Oh, so NOW you'll do it!?... Great! And you better hurry it up too! She's sulking AGAIN as we speak!... I know this 'CUZ I'M SMART! Not all blondes are dumb except Naruto!-"

"HEY! Meanie..." Hinata patted his back comfortably.

"-That's what they ALL say... Just remember that WE'LL BE WATCHING YOU... Right back at ya', Chicken Ass!" Ino hung up and turned to 3 pairs of blank faces. "Ahem! The plan has OFFICIALLY started!" She proclaimed dramatically.

"I knew taking Drama was a bad elective for her..." Tenten face-palmed. Naruto snickered.

-xXx-

_[Sakura]_

The pinknette walked into the kitchen, where a note was expecting her on the dinner table.

_'Dear Sakura,_

_I'll be returning home late again. There's miso in the fridge and instant ramen in the cupboards if you're ever hungry. I also made you some chocolate chip cookies as a snack. Just remember to heat the cookies up. Have fun!_

_-Mom'_

Sakura crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash bin. She depressingly walked up the stairs to her room. As she entered, she set her painting down on her bed and her bag on her desk. She plopped down and sunk in her chair, bored.

She had heard someone very familiar yell a faint 'I'm BORED!' and 'SHUT UP!' just now but ignored it.

She laid her head on her table and sighed, _'It's always so lonely and depressing here...'_

_**'It has been for a while... I wonder what Sasuke's –**** A.K.A: Your future spouse – doing.'** Inner playfully teased. _

_'Stop mentioning him! And stop teasing me! Why does everyone keeps mentioning him today!? And you are NOT a second Ino, got it!?'_

_**'….. You're blushing...'** Inner remarked casually._

_'E-eh!?'_

The pinknette touched her cheeks with both hands and felt it burning. She reached for her desk mirror and saw that she was blushing... Horribly too...

She set down the mirror slowly and reached into her bag, hoping to find something to keep her mind distracted and occupied. She pulled out her hand to see her childhood picture of her and Ino? She put it aside and reached in again, only to see a childhood picture of her and Sasuke!? She left that aside too, grabbing another object. This time it was a cherry blossom necklace given to her by Sasuke during her 13th birthday!?

_'OMG!'_

She pulled out a handkerchief that Sasuke gave her when they first met; she was being bullied and was crying at the time. But no! That was not what she was looking for! She stood up – and with 4 pairs of eyes and an Inner watching her very amused – shook everything out of her bag.

She found:

- Her iPhone; a Christmas gift that all her friends chipped in to pay for. _(A/N: Such great friends...)_

- A cherry blossom bracelet, matching the necklace Sasuke gave her; he gave her the matching bracelet as a birthday gift on her 14th birthday.

- Her textbooks/workbooks – including the one with 'S+S' scribbled in it.

- A lilac hair scrunchie Hinata had lent her.

- A pink scrunchie the Tenten had lent her.

- Remains of used and trash paper.

- More childhood pictures. Why did she have them?

_'OMG! Why are most of the things in here remind me or is from him!?' _She put her hands in her hair, messing it up. This just amused the 4 pairs of eyes – including Inner – and a NEW pair of eyes even more.

_**'Because you love him that much.' **Inner said, amused._

_'You people are all sadists! SADISTS!'_

She continued ranting about how life is so unfair until she spotted a box of strawberry Pocky. She shrugged; she could use a snack. The chocolate chip cookies would have to wait until later. She plopped down tired, tearing apart the lid and grabbed a Pocky. She stuck it in her mouth, making her look like a person smoking... Pocky...

Her eyes wandered to the painting then back to her desk as she used her fingers to comb her now tangled hair.

She thought real hard on her actions in the past week. Her heart started to thump, her legs would turn to jelly, and her face would flush whenever she was near Sasuke. This and those other various incidents started to happen about a week ago.

_'Think Sakura!'_

She remembered a particular event that she had forgot a while ago. She remembered him saving her from tumbling down the stairs when a jealous fangirl deliberately pushed her. He acted fast by jumping after her, made a grab for her arm, and pulled her close. Instead of her, his back made a harsh impact colliding with the hard floor. When she had opened her eyes, she was instantly hypnotized by those onyx orbs gazing back at her own emerald ones concerned. She was so hypnotized that she didn't notice his head leaning forward until the fangirl yelled angrily at them, bringing her back to reality. She gasped as she pushed him away and ran for it. She didn't bother turning her head back to see his eyes trailing after her sadly while the fangirl was rushing to him, yelling profanities to Sakura, which she ignored completely.

That was the first time she had ever gotten a closer look of his face. The first time she had ever saw those mysterious, onyx orbs up close. The first time that she actually liked being hugged by the opposite gender – with the exception of Naruto -, Sasuke's touch was really gentle and warm, unlike Naruto's hugs, which were very bone-crushing instead of gentle but warm nonetheless. Then all of sudden as if it just happened in a flash, she realized it:

She was in love with her best friend, Uchiha Sasuke. No matter what, she really did.

She stared out at her window in front of her, too oblivious to notice 4 lurking figures behind a transparent, lilac curtain or even notice another reflection behind her. The 4 figure look like they were rooting for something. One was pumping their fist in the air encouragingly, one was shyly clasping their hands in front of them like they were praying, another one was jumping around in excitement, pumping their fist into the air, with a headband around their forehead, and the last figure was trying to calm down the two figures pumping their fists.

Sakura continued to nibble her third Pocky until a finger crept up and lightly tapped her shoulder. She jumped in her chair and swiftly turned her chair around to come face to face with the person of her affections! "S-Sasuke-kun!? Why the hell are you here!? How the hell did you even get in here!? Wasn't the front door locked!?"

He shrugged, acting nonchalantly. "Is it so wrong for me to pay a visit to my best friend? And your front door was unlocked. That's dangerous and your parents also gave me a copy of your house key. Anymore questions?" He explained casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning his head away, ignoring two figures that were probably chanting his name to go do it already and one figure that was face-palming.

"O-oh... I guess not..." She turned back and stuck her 4th Pocky in her mouth. Then she felt someone staring intensely at her. "What?" She turned to face him again, "Is it so wrong for me to eat Pocky now too?" She used his own words at him. He shrugged and came closer wordlessly, bending down to her eye level. She blushed lightly at the proximity and his hypnotizing orbs staring into hers again. "N-now what?"

He wordlessly lunged forward, biting the small piece of Pocky sticking out, his hands on her shoulders. Her struggling stopped when she felt something collide with her lips in seconds. She swore he licked her lips a couple of times. After 2 minutes, they disconnected, a muffled squeal could be heard next door plus a 'Success!', but it went unnoticed by the two staring at each other passionately.

"I love you."

Sakura didn't know why, but she felt her eyes brimming with tears and her face burning as she lunged forwards, enveloping him in an embrace. "I love you too." She said, but it was muffled since she was sobbing into his jacket, her tears wetting it as well. She was beginning to worry that he only saw her as a friend.

He stroked her hair tenderly like a little child crying after being reprimanded, "Why are you crying?"

-Sniff- "I thought-" -Sniff- "-that you-" -Sniff- "-only liked me as a friend..." She cried and sobbed. She kept crying; she knew she was being childish but couldn't help it. Maybe she was just in denial after all... Or possibly she was just scared of rejection...

"Sakura..." He thought for a moment. He was never good at comforting people, much less crying girls. "I've always loved you. I was... Just too naive to tell you." He led them both to the bed, putting her in his lap. "Just like Ino said. I'm the mysterious, anti-social raven and you are sweet, cheerful, and friendly. You are the yang to my yin." He embraced her again, resting his chin on her head, his eyebrow twitching annoyingly and mentally sweat-dropping at the 4 figures eating popcorn and crying and biting their tissues. Sakura ceased most of her crying, but couldn't help but blush towards his whole speech. She buried her face into his chest, blushing like his favorite food, tomatoes.

Ino was right: She did love Sasuke. With all her heart...

-xXx-

_[Ino]_

-Sniff- -Sob- "That is so cute and heartbreaking!" Ino cried as she was biting her tissue, her eyes big and teary. Huge trails of tears running down her face like a river, giving her the impression of a VERY sad puppy.

"I'm happy for them... Oi, Naruto! Don't hog all the popcorn!" Tenten yelled and smack the blonde's head.

"Itai! Alright, alright."

"I am SO recording this!" Ino took out her iPhone and was about to turn it on until Tenten lunged at her, restraining her arms. "H-huh!? LET ME GO, TENTEN! I CANNOT MISS THIS!" She struggled out of the brunette's grip, which was impossible.

"I-Ino! Shut up or else they might hear you! If you hadn't noticed, Sasuke's keen senses have already noticed us! It's all thanks to your shrill voice of a banshee woman! No offense!" Tenten said, trying really hard to keep the struggling and desperate Ino in hold. Ino just struggled harder, trying to elbow her for the banshee comment.

"I'm just so glad that they're FINALLY together, dattebayo! It's about time Teme is FINALLY happy for once in his life-ttebayo!" Naruto said to Hinata as the former ate more popcorn and the latter smiling.

"I'm so happy for you, Sakura-chan..." Hinata said, feeling proud of her. She leaned against Naruto, both ignoring the arguing females.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Ino struggled even more harder, whacking weak punches against Tenten's arms and was swinging her legs wildly. "It was thanks to MY brilliant thinking that even got them together in the first place! So I deserve a right to record the success of my work! So LET ME FREAKIN' GO, TENTEN!" Her face suddenly darkened, "And you are SO gonna pay for the banshee comment when I get my hands on your neck!"

"You know, your threats containing death are terrible!"

"Well, I'm not Sakura, who is an EXPERT at it!"

-xXx-

_[SasuSaku]_

They were still hugging until Sakura realized something. "Wait." She released herself from a bewildered Sasuke's arms, "How did you know Ino said all that stuff? Were you spying!?" She glared suspiciously.

He shrugged, "I just happen to overhear it while I was passing by to turn in the attendance sheet."

She grew nervous. What if he had heard all about her CRUSH!? "And did you hear EVERYTHING or just parts of it?"

"I only started hearing from me being a raven and you being the 'sugar' to my heart." He cocked an eyebrow at her for the sugar comment, she blushed as she shrugged sheepishly. "And I also heard the yin yang part and then I had to go because I was running late."

She inwardly gave a sigh of relief, but she was still suspicious, so she kept interrogating, "And what was your REAL purpose for sneaking into my room?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

He inwardly sighed. He had two decisions: A) Tell the truth and not get killed. Or B) Lie and lose Sakura's trust in him.

He sighed again, might as well start the trust earning. He didn't want to already lose his 3 minute girlfriend by lying. "When you and Ino went home, she called me and told me that you were sulking again in your room."

"I do NOT sulk!" The pinknette protested, feeling slightly offended.

"Let me continue. She threatened that if I didn't march over here and confess my feelings, she would sell my whole... Drawer of boxers to my fangirls." He sighed and hung his head in shame. He still couldn't believe that he was blackmailed into doing something.

"So you didn't come here WILLINGLY?" She whimpered, about to cry, her eyes big and teary.

"W-well, i-it was Ino's fault-"

"INO-PIG! I'M SO GONNA MURDER YOU!" Sakura stood up and hollered at the top of her lungs, startling an already very-scared-to-death Sasuke and 4 terrified frozen-to-the-bone figures. Sasuke was doing a sad attempt at calming and restraining the pinknette down, who kept shouting profanities at the 4 figures' direction.

-xXx-

_[Soon R.I.P Ino]_

"Ino. Maybe you should start running now." Tenten calmly and wisely suggested, elbow on the window sill, resting her face in and looking at Ino.

Ino gulped deeply, "Good idea. Oh, why didn't I take track when I had the chance!?" She wailed miserably.

"Because it would make you all sweaty and smelly?"

"SHUT UP, NARUTO!"

-xXx-

**A/N: And we'll never know what happened to Ino... So how was the remake version? Better? Worse? Tell me!**

**Also, I SUCK at kiss scenes :D And I was practically GAGGING myself when I was typing it xD -Shudders – Just because I like reading romance doesn't mean I enjoy writing it! I prefer more fluffy romance (Ex. Kiss on cheek when they were kids.) **

**Don't forget to check out and review my latest and currently ongoing SasuSaku story: _That Fateful Encounter_! I need reviews for chapter 5!**

**(1) The Red Thread/String Of Fate is an old Chinese myth. If there is a 'red thread' connecting two people together, it is said that those two are soul mates. The condition of the string can determine how your relationship is. (Ex. If the string is tangled then you have a not-so-good relationship. If it is NOT tangled and is in perfect condition, then you really are PERFECT for each other!) The string is usually tied/connected on each others' pinky (The smallest finger) (This is based off of my OWN knowledge because I'm VERY lazy right now to use Wikipedia xD)**

**R&R?**

_**FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THE SECTION BELOW:**_

**Trivia:**

**1) Originally, Naruto was never meant to be included in this story :/**

**2) Unlike the original sucky version of this story, Pocky was NOT the main theme :)**

**3) The whole painting idea came from me brainstorming for an InoShika story, which was never created (I easily lose focus on a story if the main pairing is not SasuSaku) :B**

**4) Always listen to Ino's words of wisdom for love issues. They work :]**

**5) It's SUPER-DUPER annoying to keep typing 'the pinknette', 'the pink-haired girl', 'the blonde', etc.**

**6) I had to revise and edit this story on my iPod (Notepad) at least 5 times and at least 3 times on the computer and yet I STILL feel slightly unsatisfied :D**


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